From the moment her older sister took her to her first museum in Akron, Ohio, at 10 years old, she knew she’d found her tribe. Standing among so many cultured adults and listening to them discuss the art all around her, she knew as a child she had found her calling. Ever since then, she’s spent her entire adulthood chasing the dream of having a proper museum exhibition.

“Avanguardia” is a large-scale, multi-medium exhibition by Watson that opens with an artist talk and reception at 6 p.m. Nov. 16 at Telfair’s Jepson Center. It’s the realization of Watson’s lifelong ambition and explores themes that have been present in her work throughout her career. It also represents the beginning of a new phase for her, from part-time artist to a potential full-time artist, as the Telfair show coincides with her recently acquiring representation by Imlay Gallery in Montclair, New Jersey, where she will have a solo show with new works next March. That same month she will also be part of the Art on Paper fair at downtown Manhattan’s Pier 36 in New York City.

Watson has had a fulfilling career in many ways. She spent a large portion of her life in Los Angeles, where she worked in the film industry for many years. She’s been in a number of significant art exhibitions over the years, including here in Savannah. She’s also had success as a professional gardener, which has been her part-time gig while she creates her art.

But all along, she’s had the persistent feeling so much of her creative energy has been spent on other people’s visions and aspirations. “Avanguardia” represents Watson’s own personal vision writ large on the walls of the Jepson Center.

“I appreciate this so much,” says Watson. “I’ve had really amazing jobs in the film industry and working with Bill Viola, the digital film artist. Those were great, amazing jobs, but all along it was everybody else’s dreams.”

“Avanguardia” is the most ambitious personal project Watson has embarked on to date. The sprawling, large-scale installation reflects Watson’s attitudes toward the natural world and our constructed surroundings. Watson is an environmentalist with an ambivalent view of the man-made landscape that’s encroaching on every last inch of the plants and animals she loves.

She’s also an artist with an affectionate eye toward the complexities of human ingenuity, particularly the architecture of bridges, which feature prominently in her work. The resulting immersive exhibition is a nuanced meditation on human progress and environmental consciousness.

While there’s obviously a strong narrative thread in the show, Watson was careful not to beat any viewers over the head with loaded messages.

“Of course I want people to have their own story when they come out of it,” explains Watson. “I want everybody to come out of it going, hmm. I want it to be their own story.”

As with all of her work, Watson used mostly reclaimed and recycled materials for her creations. Those materials figure strongly in the story she’s trying to convey.

“I’ve been using reclaimed materials my entire career, but no one ever knew,” says Watson. “They didn’t know why I was doing that and I think this show is also a narrative about that … It really just comes down to, how do I tell the story? But I also want a beautiful piece of artwork as a result.”

The inspirations for “Avanguardia” range from Watson’s concern about the tree canopy in Chatham County, to the destruction of native plant and animal species, to the memory of the suburb that obliterated her playground woods growing up.

The band Arcade Fire is also one of her most prominent muses and she points out one lyric that has resonated with her for years from the song “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains).” The chorus of that song practically sums up her feelings behind her exhibition:

“Sometimes I wonder if the world’s so small,

That we can never get away from the sprawl,

Living in the sprawl,

Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains,

And there’s no end in sight,

I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights.”

“Avanguardia” is part of Telfair’s #art912 initiative and will be on view through March 11. The artist talk and reception on Nov. 16 is free and open to the public.

Kristopher Monroe is a writer documenting the intersection of art and community. Contact him at savartscene@gmail.com and follow on Twitter @savartscene.

Lisa D. Watson bridges the environment

‘Avanguardia’ opens Nov. 17 at the Jepson

TWO YEARS AGO, Telfair’s Erin Dunn and Rachel Reese visited Lisa D. Watson’s home for one of their #art912 studio tours. They were met with a mini scale model of the Jepson Center, complete with tiny renditions of Watson’s paintings stuck onto the walls with Velcro.

“They were like, ‘Oh, my God, you built a model,’” Watson recalls with a shrug. “I’m a designer and a space planner, so if I have a little room, I want to build a model.”

That model turned out to be “Avanguardia,” Watson’s solo exhibition that opens Nov. 17 at the Jepson.

“When they first told me, I reread the emails twenty times and thought, ‘Oh, God, Erin made a mistake,’” Watson laughs.

The selection was no mistake. “Avanguardia” is a powerful narrative exhibition of large-scale wood paintings that show Watson’s passion for the environment. While Watson has her own storyline in mind, she wants viewers to come up with their own meaning.

“I want people to walk through the hall, come back out, and hopefully feel positive,” Watson says, “because there’s a lot of negative crap going on right now. Even though I’m extremely concerned with the environment, I still have a lot of hope.”

Watson has been an artist/activist in our community for years and may be best known for her efforts with Span the Gap, the initiative to change the name of the Talmadge Bridge to something more inclusive.

She notes that she’s always been fascinated by bridges and their artistry.

“I love painting bridges, and I really respect the engineering that goes into making a bridge,” she explains. “But that said, I love animals. I like bridges, I love animals.”

“Avanguardia” follows two deer, a mother and baby, as they attempt to navigate an increasingly man-made world. She wanted to incorporate animals into the exhibition, but it took her a while to decide which one.

“I went through a lot of animals,” Watson chuckles. “Like, what are the animals I see? I was in Tennessee and I could not believe how many deer [there were]. Every mile, they were right on the freeway.”

Watson also notes the similarities between deer and humans, like a strong maternal bond and the tendency of fathers to leave.

“I asked [my husband] Don, ‘Is it weird that I want people to walk through here and go, ‘Aww?’ Is that cheesy for the art world?” Watson wonders. “I really wanted some kind of emotion, for people to think about what we’re doing.”

Above all, that’s Watson’s takeaway: think about our impact. That attitude carries over into her creative process, since all the materials she uses are recycled. In her studio, she has a rack full of salvaged scraps, from helium balloons to security envelopes.

“Everything is made from things that would have been thrown away,” she notes.

Watson’s passion for recycling began when she was a college freshman working at Kinko’s and saw her coworker carrying a huge bag of paper out of the store. He was responsible for recycling the paper and had to drive it to the recycling center himself.

Today, Watson paints on wood that husband Don brings back from his job at Bella Terra Interior Solutions. Watson cuts the bigger pieces with a jigsaw, but for a more finite cut, Don uses the CNC (computer numerical control) machine at work.

While working with reclaimed materials is more sustainable, it’s also more limiting.

“Because I have to choose the material, I have to base the artwork on the material I have,” Watson explains. “As much as I loved Katherine Sandoz’s show at Location, I don’t have that repetitive size because I can’t go buy canvases. It limits me, but it pushes me.”

“Avanguardia” is a push in the right direction for Watson.

“It’s so colorful, a little more colorful than I’m used to,” she reflects. “I don’t know what is coming out of me.”

What is delegation day? It’s an opportunity for citizens to speak with Chatham County Delegates and express concerns, hopefully bringing these issues to the Georgia General Assembly. Unfortunately, it’s closed to the press and public. We only had 15 minutes.

After a Span the Gap volunteer spoke about this year’s efforts representing Savannah’s outcry about the bridge name, our representatives gave confusing advice or said nothing at all.

Craig Gordon and Lester Jackson both walked in late missing our speech. Mickey Stephens was not there.

Petrea, responded: ”What you ladies don’t seem to understand, it’s a slippery slope.If we change the bridge name, where do you draw the line?”

Mr. Petrea, are you telling all the multiple organizations and individuals from the last 25 years who wanted the racist name off the bridge, that it’s slippery?

This year’s efforts by Team Span the Gap include:

An online survey regarding the bridge name; sponsored by local businesses.1200 people voted. The survey was nonpartisan, leaving it up to the community to keep the name or choose another. Then, the team formed a petition to change the name from Eugene Talmadge to the voter’s choice: The Tomochichi Bridge, receiving close to 1000 signatures in the last few weeks.

Also sponsored by local businesses, an art exhibit including 25 local Savannah artists. The show brought in hundreds of people to celebrate the bridge’s 25th anniversary.

The group received a great deal of coverage including Connect Savannah, Do Savannah, The Examiner and ABC - WJCL.

Team Span the Gap spoke with local politicians, ministers, teachers, businesses, students, etc. - keeping the community informed in person or on the Facebook page. The founder was a panelist at a Monday Means Community meeting hosted by Emergent Savannah.

There are 16 roads, buildings, statues and a lake named after Talmadge.

Do we really need another, especially our modern bridge?

Petrea, in your piece, Make Georgia’s parole process more open, you wrote something really ironic after your comments to us. “Almost always government decisions should be open to the public. This process needs sunlight. Furthermore, this bill shifts more influence to local communities and their elected DA’s and judges. Their voices should be heard.”

We took this question to mean that we sit down with Herman Talmadge’s third wife and widow to discuss renaming the bridge. A woman that lives 223 miles away from Savannah. The woman who married a man that said, “God advocates segregation.”

Puzzling. Does the Talmadge family have more influence on you than the city of Savannah?

We read about the Talmadge grandsons pistol whipping a pizza delivery man, shoving politicians against the wall in Atlanta, threatening themafter the Chatham County delegation brought up renaming the bridge a few years ago.

A visit to the Talmadge homestead? Hmmm? We’re not in the mood to get pistol whipped.

Thank you to those representative who sat there and said nothing....very helpful.

And Mr. Petrea, while in the waiting room, your words to me, “Sweetie, get me a glass of water.”

Not only is this insulting, it reveals your tone deafness to your constituent’s issues and your blatant sexism.

1200 people took the survey! Close to a thousand have signed the petition.

Thank you delegates, you just ignored A LOT of people.

Ladies & Gentlemen, these are your elected representatives. Thank them.

I’m going to start by saying I cannot believe that in 2015, I have to make this list.

I get it, you forgot your reusable bags at home.

NO! I DON’T GET IT! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? I’ve been doing all this stuff for 35 years; it’s totally second nature to me. I seriously cannot take it anymore and I’m about to explode with frustration!

Please recycle my irritated parts...

# fricken 1: RECYCLE.

Oh yes California, people don’t recycle and they're not teaching their children about sustainability. Yay!

Like my friend Linda, I’ll carry a plastic bottle with me on 2 flights, 2 airports and a taxi ride, till I see the illustrious recycling symbol. Every little item counts.

Collect the above items, drive to your recycling facility and shut up. I did it for years.

#2: KEEP YOUR REUSABLE BAGS IN THE CAR OR CARRY THEM WITH YOU.

Do you really want a drawer full of plastic bags? I see 20-somethings put one item in a plastic bag at the checkout register; breaks my heart. “Help me Obi-Wan Millennials, you’re my only hope.” My 85 year old mother brings her cloth bags to the store. You’re 25!

Each year the US uses approximately 30 billion plastic and 10 billion paper grocery bags, requiring approximately 14 million trees and 12 million barrels of oil.

Ugh!

“Only if someone would invent a reusable cloth bag.”

They did! Hundreds of years ago!

#3: SAVE WATER!

It’s only a matter of time we’ll be strapping a guitarist to our war machines and fighting for a glass of liquid life; Mad Max plug...the new movie is awesome BTW.